You Make Me Brave
by bette23
Summary: Nathan plans to use Haley to get to Lucas. What happens when his plan backfires and she ends up changing his entire world when she teaches him that life is short and that you need to make it count; because sometimes there just isn't enough time. ON HIATUS
1. Sick Little Games

**So I know I've only just started my first story, but this one just came to mind. I'm sorry if updates are slow, but I do have two stories now.**

**DISCLAIMER: Nope, One Tree Hill isn't mine.**

Nathan strutted down the hallway as he made his way to his locker. He nodded to the people who weren't exactly his friend, but also not unpopular enough to be ignored, and high fived his friends. Sometimes he would throw in an occasional wink or his signature lets-hook-up nod to the attractive girls. He noticed Lucas just down row from him talking to a girl. He'd see them together before, but he wasn't sure who she was. He was surprised too because she wasn't exactly unattractive.

"What's up, playa!" his best friend Tim said leaning next to his locker.

"Just say hi, Tim," he rolled his eyes. He looked back over at Lucas again, and noticed the girl walk away.

"Hey, whose that girl Lucas is always with?" he asked Tim. Tim looked over to see who he was talking about.

"Don't know," he shrugged, "Why? You feel like slumming?"

Nathan scoffed and shoved his friend, "No. I had a better idea."

He threw his arm around Tim, and filled him in as they walked down the hallway. He knew exactly how to bring Lucas down.

**OTH**

Haley jammed the last of the files into the drawer, pushed it shut, and locked it. Her free period was almost up and she was the last one left in the Tutor Center. She walked over to turn off the radio but paused when she heard the song that came on. She still had ten minutes so she decided to crank it up a little bit. She smiled and started dancing to one of her favorite songs.

_Don't you, forget about me  
Don't, don't, don't, don't  
Don't you, forget about me._

She threw her head around, dancing the same dance that Molly Ringwald had in The Breakfast Club. As she turned in circles, she hadn't noticed someone standing at the door. She nearly knocked over a table when she jumped back. She quickly shut off the radio.

"Can I help you?" she said out of breath.

"Not with my dancing skills, that's for sure," Nathan smiled walking into the room.

She rolled her eyes, and ran her hand through her short brown hair.

"You're Haley James, right?" he asked.

"Yeah?" She replied. What did Nathan Scott want with her?

"Looks like you can help me then," he told her, "You're my tutor."

She laughed, "Yeah, right."

"No really," he said handing her a slip of paper. Sure enough her name was on it.

"Sorry," she said handing the paper back to him, "Lucas is my best friend."

"I'm sorry too, then," he said giving her his most charming smile.

"You'll have to find someone else," she said grabbing her bag off the table and heading for the door.

He quickly intercepted her, "Look, there is no one else. I'd be fine if there was."

"If there 'were'," she corrected him crossing her arms.

He couldn't help but laugh at her, "See? You're helping me already."

"I can't help you," she said again trying to head for the door. He cut her off again.

"Can't or won't?" he asked.

She looked at him for a moment. She couldn't do it. Lucas had been there with her for everything. She couldn't betray the only person who stood by her through her worst times.

"Won't," she stated before brushing past him.

Nathan sighed. This was going to be harder than he thought.

**OTH**

"Hazing?" Haley asked as she walked with Lucas on the quad.

"Yep," he said, "They ruined my clothes, destroyed the river court, and refuse to pass me the ball."

"Do you think they'll let up anytime soon?"

"Not with Nathan as their ring leader," he said shaking his head, "I'm sure it's only begun."

"God," she said, "You know he actually…"

Something stopped her. She knew it wasn't a big deal to tell Lucas about what had happened in the Tutor Center yesterday, but something inside herdidn't want him to know.

"Actually what?" he probed.

"Nothing," she covered, "He's just an ass."

He seemed satisfied with this answer and dropped the subject.

"So," he said as they sat down at their table, "How have you been feeling?"

Haley sighed dramatically, "And I thought you could actually make it a whole two days without asking me."

"Come on, Hales," he said playfully pushing he shoulder, "You're my best friend, I worry."

"I'm fine, Luke," she told him, "The doctor said that I was looking good the last time I saw him."

"When's your next appointment?"

"Three weeks," she saw the look he gave her, "You're not going!"

"But," he began but she cut him off.

"I'm not letting you skip school again for one stupid appointment," she said firmly.

"Fine," he huffed, "But if you change your mind…"

"I know," she smiled, "Thanks, Luke."

"You know what I don't get though?" he said suddenly.

"What?"

"You missed a million days of school, but you're still ahead of everyone in our class."

"That's because I'm a genius," she said as a matter of factly, "Duh."

He playfully ruffled her hair, and they laughed as they continued their brother-sister banter.

Nathan watched their exchange from afar. He could see exactly how much Lucas cared for this girl. He had to get to her. It was the only way he knew would bring Lucas down.

**OTH**

Haley looked at the clock as she awaited Lucas at the café. He was supposed to come by after basketball practice, but he should have been here by now. She sighed and walked over to the door to flip the sign from open to closed.

"Still no sign?" Karen asked.

"Nope," she said, "Maybe he forgot. I'll just see him tomorrow."

As she turned to grab her bag from the counter, she heard the welcome bell ring. When she looked at the door, she found a sweaty dirt-stained Lucas standing there.

"They're lucky that Keith is a mechanic," he said storming over to the counter and sitting down.

"Luke, what happened?" his mom asked putting down the dish she had been washing.

"Let's see," he said, "My ass of a brother decided to flatten the front tires of my car so I couldn't leave practice."

"Are you serious?" Haley asked.

"Yeah," he said fuming, "So, I had to call Keith to come tow me and now here I am."

"Guess that means they aren't letting up anytime soon?" she sighed.

"They're going to keep at it until I quit," he said and then looked at her with most serious look she had ever seen, "But I'm not going to let them win."

"Lucas, you should tell Whitey," Karen said, "He won't let them keep this up."

"Nah," he said, "That'll just make it worse."

Haley sat in silence. She knew he wouldn't like what she was about to do, but she needed to do it. He had done so much for her; she needed to return the favor. She threw her bag over her shoulder.

"You know what," she said, "I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Karen."

She quickly ran out the door before either could reply. Karen and Lucas gave each other a confused look. What was up with her?

It didn't take her long to find Nathan's house. It was bigger than all the rest. She swiftly made her way up the driveway and began banging on the door. Nathan opened it after a few seconds.

"What's up?" he asked leaning against the door frame.

"I know I'm going to regret this," she said, "But I will tutor you."

He perked up, "That's great!"

"But only on three conditions…"

He nodded and she continued, "You have to work around my schedule. I don't care about your social life. I have a lot going on and you need to remember that I'm volunteering to do it."

"Alright," he said.

"Two; Lucas does not find out about this. Ever," she emphasized.

Again, he nodded.

"And three; you leave him alone," she said, "No more teasing, hazing, and you actually treat him like he's your teammate and pass him the ball."

"No problem," Nathan smiled. He wouldn't need to haze anymore with his plan set in motion. He knew this was the trick. He was finally going to get that punk of his ass and his girlfriend back.

"Good," she said finally, "We'll start tomorrow. Meet me at the pier at 7:00 a.m."

"Why not the Tutor Center?" he asked confused.

She scoffed, "Yeah and risk Lucas seeing us? No way. The pier, take it or leave it."

"See you in the morning," he smiled at her.

"Okay then," she said skipping down the stairs.

He couldn't help but smile as he watched her petite frame disappear down the driveway. She was kind of cute. _No,_ he told himself, _this is strictly to go after Lucas. _He could do this, couldn't he?

**A/N: Alright, so just so no one is confused, I'll explain a few things to you. Haley's hair is short, like it was in the beginning of season 5. You may notice some familiar scenes. I used some scenes from season 1 but it isn't going to be the same plotline, although it is set during the middle of their junior year. You will eventually find out why Haley goes to the doctor, so be patient. It also stats kind of slow so just wait for the next few chapters to really judge. Reviews are appreciated. Thanks (:**


	2. First Day On A Brand New Planet

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill.**

Haley looked at her watch for the tenth time since she had sat down. He was fifteen minutes late. She'd expected maybe five, but fifteen? That was ridiculous. She sighed as she began closing her notebook and text book. She should have known he wasn't serious about this. He was Nathan Scott after all.

She had just begun to throw her bag over her shoulder when she spotted him sprinting down the pier. He came to halt in front of the table, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"You're late," she glared at him.

"I know, I'm sorry," he said plopping down, "But with good reason."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, "And what would that reason be?"

"I stopped and got us breakfast," he said reaching into his backpack and pulling out two boxes. He sat one in front of her and began opening his.

"Cracker Jacks?" she stared at him. _How old was he?_

"Breakfast of champions," he grinned at her before digging his hand into the box. He brought his hand back out with a small package in between his fingers. She watched him in annoyance.

"Please let this be a cheat sheet," he said as his he ripped it open. His face dropped in disappointment as a small, pink, plastic bracelet fell out.

"Just your color," Haley laughed sarcastically. He rolled his eyes before an idea popped into his head.

"It's for you," he smiled reaching for her wrist.

"Stop it," she said trying to pull her arm away. He was too quick for her and slid the bracelet onto her tiny wrist. _Ass, _she thought.

"Don't say I never gave you anything," he smiled at her again. _I'm totally getting to her._

"Alright," she said taking her wrist back, "You can try to work your whole I'm-Nathan-Scott-badass-basketball-player attitude on me but it's not going to work. You know why I'm here, even though my instincts are screaming at me that you're full of shit. I'm taking a huge chance on you. Do not mess with me because I'm the only thing that's going to keep you on your little sports team and allow you to score your touchdowns."

She finished her rant and began pulling her books back out. He watched chuckled at her sports knowledge, "You do know there aren't touchdowns in basketball, right?"

"Whatever. You see this book?" she said turning one of the books around, "Because this book is me. I am math."

"What's that mean?" he asked confused. She had totally lost him.

"It means that you can stop trying to lay on the Scott charm because math doesn't care and neither do I. And that," she said gesturing to the full blown smirk that was now gracing his features, "That smirk isn't going to get you anywhere."

_Damn this girl is feisty, _he thought, _it's actually kind of a turn on. _He mentally slapped himself for that thought. _No, she is Lucas' best friend. You know, the guy you're trying to mess with? Focus!_

"Are you listening," she snapped at him irritably._ For Lucas, _she thought to herself.

"Yeah, sorry," he muttered. _This is going to be harder than I thought._

**OTH**

"Hey Hales, where were you this morning?" Lucas asked as he slid in next to her at their lunch table on the quad.

"I had tutoring this morning," she said not looking up from her text book.

"Oh," he said, "Anyone I know?"

"Nope," she shook her head as the bracelet on her wrist began to feel heavy. She anxiously tugged that her jean jacket, making sure that the plastic trinket was securely hidden.

Satisfied with her answer, he moved on, "So you'll never guess what happened to me this morning."

Finally looking up at him she noticed the expression on his face, "Why do you look like you just discovered gold?"

"Might as well have. I had a little run in with Brooke Davis…in the boy's locker room"

"Brooke Davis, as in captain of the cheer-sluts, Brooke Davis?" she asked incredulously.

"That's the one. She kind of surprised me after practice this morning."

"Well," Haley probed, "What happened?"

Lucas grinned as he told his best friend exactly what happened.

_Lucas threw his towel over the shower walls as he turned the knob as far as it would go. He needed a hot shower after a workout in the weight had been on his case since he joined the team. He knew he was scrawny and okay, he wasn't as built up as most of the guys on the team but still. He stepped into the water and closed his eyes. _

"_Guess I know who the big brother is," came a voice from behind._

_He whipped around to see none other than Brooke Davis wrapped in only a towel. He quickly shut off the shower and grabbed his towel. _

"_Uh," he stuttered, "I think you're in the wrong locker room."_

"_Well, the sign says boys," she said before dropping her towel, "Doesn't it?"_

"_Oh my God," he said turning around so his back was to her._

"_I'm Brooke," she smiled, "But you probably already knew that."_

"_I gotta go," he said quickly, walking past her trying his hardest not to look at her._

_What the hell was that?_

"Shut up!" Haley exclaimed when he finished his story.

"Swear," he laughed as Haley covered her mouth.

"You and Brooke Davis. That's hard to imagine," she shook her head.

"Yeah, I'd say hard is the right word," Lucas grinned again.

"Oh my God, ugh!" Haley groaned covering her ears, "That is disgusting."

"Your words, Hales, not mine," he laughed as she pushed his shoulder.

"I think I'm gonna throw up," she said pretending to gag. He may be her best friend but there was still a line between juicy details and too much information.

"You wanted to know," he said taking a sip from his water.

Haley shuddered before standing up from their table, "I'm going to the library. I'll see you later perv."

She playfully pushed his head and he laughed as he pulled out a book and began to read.

"You think there's something going on between them?" a voice snapped Nathan out of his trance.

He had been watching the exchange between the two friends and felt something in the pit of his stomach. He chalked it up to annoyance to Lucas, but a voice in the back of his head told him that it was the opposite; it was jealousy.

"What do you mean?" he asked as Brooke Davis plopped down across from him. She looked over at Lucas and sighed.

"I mean, do you think they're together?" she asked. She was curious as to why he turned down a naked her; no one turned down a naked Brooke Davis. She immediately concluded that he was either taken or gay.

"No way," he said confidentially. He would never admit that he had been asking himself the same thing as he watched them. They looked completely comfortable with each other, and if you had been a complete stranger to them both, you might think they were an item.

"Are you sure?" she said as she watched his eyebrows furrow as he concentrated on his book.

"Yeah," he told her, "Why?"

"Because he is totally hot," she smiled, "I'm not usually into the whole brooding thing, but he pulls it off."

"You know I love you Davis, but this is my ass of a brother we're talking about," he said in annoyance, "Why don't you go talk to Peyton about him?"

"Because P. Sawyer is too busy running around with Jake," she said bitterly. He rolled his eyes. He had never been a fan of Peyton's. She was far too bitchy for his liking. Not to mention she gave him a good slap after he had drunkenly hit on her.

"Normally, I have no problem listening to you talk about your sex-capades, Brooke, but how about you keep your fantasies about Lucas to yourself."

"Jealous that they're not about you, huh Nate?" she smiled at him.

He scoffed at his friend, "We've been down that road and I don't plan on revisiting."

"Ugh," she gagged, "I thought we agreed to never talk about that ever again."

"You brought it up," he shrugged. They had gotten together during sophomore year after getting hammered at a party. The morning after, they had agreed to never speak of it again. It wasn't that Brooke wasn't hot, she was. And sex wasn't really a big deal to him. He was a sort of 'hit it and quit it' sort of guy, but Brooke was one of his good friends

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, "Let's discuss what I really came over to talk to you about."

He looked at her with a confused expression.

"Where were you this morning?" she said crossing her arms, "And don't say basketball because I was here and I didn't see you in the locker room?"

"What were you doing in the locker room?" he asked trying to change the subject.

He saw her blush and he saw a way out, "Brooke?"

"It's beside the point," she snapped, "So were where you?"

"Running," he pathetically said.

"Nathan Scott, you cannot lie to me," she said, "What aren't you telling me?"

"Fine," he conceded, "I was getting tutored."

He crossed his arms, pissed that Brooke knew him so well. He should expect as much though since they had been friends since sixth grade.

"Oh," she said disappointed at the revelation, "Why?"

"For fun," he said sarcastically, "Why do you think? My grades suck."

"Jeez," she said, "Who pissed in your cheerio's this morning."

"You asked," he said, "And if you tell anyone about this, I mean, ANYONE, I'll tell everyone about you and that old guy."

She gasped before pouting, "That's not fair, you saw him! He could have totally passed for late twenties!"

He smiled at her, "I mean it. No one can know."

"Fine," she huffed. She hated keeping secrets.

**OTH**

Haley ran her finger along the spines of each book as she scanned for the one she was looking for. She had a huge research paper due in history, and call her old fashioned, but she liked book research a lot more than computer research. Books were so much more reliable. Now days, you didn't know who wrote what on the website.

"Aha," she said as she finally spotted _Origin of Species. _She opened it and began to scan the pages. Satisfied with what the book contained, she closed it and headed to check it out. After checking out the book, she stuffed it in her bag and made her way to the tutoring center. It was her free period and she normally spent it in the tutoring center. She had had a student up until last week when they had decided his grades were good enough on their own. He had other obligations that tutoring was beginning to conflict with.

She walked into the room only to stop dead in her tracks when she caught a couple making out in he back of the room. They broke apart when they heard her bag it the floor.

"Oh wow, sorry," she said before noticing who the couple was, "Oh, so this is why you couldn't continue tutoring?"

Peyton blushed as Jake smiled at her, "Sorry, Hales. It was empty."

She laughed at him before grabbing her bag off the floor, "Good to know what your mysterious 'obligation' was."

"Funny," he said taking Peyton's hand and walking them toward the table where she now sat.

"Hey Peyton," Haley greeted. She and the curly blonde had recently became friends. They were in humanities together this year. They talked during class but they had never had contact outside of it. Peyton was popular while she was clearly not.

"Hey," she greeted. "Sorry about that."

"It's cool," Haley smiled, "Now I know why Jake was so distracted during his tutoring sessions."

Jake blushed, "Thanks a lot."

He tugged Peyton to the door before turning around, "Oh, by the way; I got a ninety-four on my English test. You are a miracle worker."

"Wow Jake, that's great!" She said genuinely happy for him. Jake was actually pretty smart, but he often missed class or fell asleep. He had explained that he had a lot on his plate and had trouble keeping up. She completely understood and agreed to help. She had only tutored him for about a month, but they became quick friends. He was a good guy.

"See ya Haley," he said before walking out. Peyton gave her a small wave before exiting behind him. Haley began working on her homework and before long, the bell had rung. She began putting her things away when her watch beeped signaling that it was time for her medication. She sighed before pulling out a small pill bottle and her water. She threw the pill into the back of her throat and swallowed.

"Who knew tutor girl was a pill popper?" Brooke Davis said from behind.

Haley rolled her eyes before turning around, "Did you want something?"

"I was just walking by when I saw your little display," she smiled.

"Just asprin," Haley explained annoyed. She and Brooke Davis weren't enemies or anything but Haley wasn't her biggest fan. She didn't like how she ran around with every guy known to man. In fact, she was like a female Nathan Scott, which wasn't surprising seeing as the two were friends. They acted just alike.

"Whatever you say," the brunette smiled, "So listen. You and Lucas are friends right?"

"Yeah, why?" she asked although she knew where this was going.

"Are you more than friends?"

"I'm sorry?" Haley asked. _Maybe I don't know where this is going._

"Are you two, you know, together?" she asked.

Haley searched Brooke's face for any hint that she was teasing or that this was a joke, but she looked completely serious.

"Definitely not," she answered.

"Okay," Brooke smiled again, "Well you wouldn't mind putting in a good word for me, would you?"

"Actually-"

"Thanks, Tutor Girl!" Brooke cut her off before bouncing out of the room.

Haley stood frozen. _Can this day get any weirder?_

**Finally, an update on this story. I fail at life, I know. Anyways, as you can see this is telling you whose friends with who, and who is/is going to be with who. I probably should have done that in the first chapter, but the first chapter was all Naley and also kind of a fail as I look back on it. Now, the next chapter will be more Naley, but we're still building up to everything so keep reading. Hope you liked this one. Read and Review. Thanks!**


	3. Everybody's Changing

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, but I do own the plot. Wouldn't it be nice to own James Lafferty though? Yum! **

"You want to what?" Haley screeched into the phone. She was lying on her bed, finishing up both hers and Nathan's history exam outlines when Lucas had called.

"Just hear me out, Hales," Lucas explained on the other line, "It's a good chance for me to finally bond with the team."

"Oh now you're all about 'bonding with the team'," she said sarcastically, "You do know Nathan is part of said team right, and he's also a complete asshole."

"I'm not saying that going to this party will all of a sudden make us brothers, no way in hell, but it might be a good way for us to finally find some common ground or at least learn to be civil with one another," he presented his case.

"Has the hazing has stopped?" She questioned. She had been tutoring Nathan for two weeks, and as much as she hated to admit it, he's actually been really great. As far as she knew, there had been no hazing and he'd actually learned to pass the ball. She still didn't trust him, but she genuinely hoped that he would accept Lucas, if not as his brother, at least as his equal. He was still an ass, and she wasn't sure if that would ever change. She rolled her eyes thinking of his comment during their last session.

"_This is so stupid," Nathan huffed throwing his pencil down, "Who cares about the Civil War, it was a million year ago!"_

_Haley looked up from her book and laughed when she saw that he had his arms crossed and his normal smirk was replaced with a scowl. He looked like a five year old who was told he couldn't go out and play. _

"_The Civil War was a monumental event in U.S history," she explained, "If it had never happened then there could still be slavery and there would have been no civil rights movement and no black president and-"_

"_Damn, Haley, breathe," he said cutting off her ramble. He shook his head at her, chuckling to himself. He'd become accustomed to her rambling since she did every time he made some negative comment about school. He made most of those comments just to make her ramble so he could laugh. School was boring so he needed all the laughs he could get. _

_She blushed when she realized she had sounded like a complete idiot…again. She looked at him and saw that the smirk had returned. She returned her attention back to her book. What couldn't have been five minutes later, she heard him groan._

"_Screw the Civil War, I could use a slave right now," he said._

"_Nathan!" she said smacking his arm._

"_What?" he shrugged, "Then they could do my homework for me."_

_Haley just rolled her eyes at him. His smirk grew wider when a thought entered his head._

"_You know, you could always be my slave Hales," he smiled._

"_In your dreams, Scott," she said not even looking up from her book this time._

"_I mean, you already help me with my homework," he said, "but you know what kind of slave I could really use?"_

_She ignored him, keeping her eyes glued to her book, despite the fact that she had read the same sentence five times._

"_I need a slave that could fully satisfy their master, if you know what I mean."_

_Her head snapped up to see that he was laughing hysterically at what could only be her tomato red face. She took her book and wacked him on the shoulder._

"_You are such an ass!"_

"Yeah," Lucas said answering her question, "No more slashed tires, drenched clothes, or walking out into the hallway naked."

"Ew!" she cringed, "So not an image I needed in my head."

"Please come, Hales!" he begged again.

She groaned into the phone. She could picture his puppy dog face on the other end of the line.

"I have homework to do," she said lamely, knowing full and well it wouldn't work.

"It's Friday, nerd," he countered.

"Luuuuuuuuke," she whined. She really did not want to go to this party. Parties weren't her thing and plus, she didn't want to see Nathan more than she had to.

"Haaaaaaaaley," he whined right back, "After everything I do for you, and you can't do me this one small favor?"

"Ugh," she conceded, "Fine! But if I get bored, can we leave?"

"Of course, your heinous," he smiled, "Pick you up in thirty, you're the best!"

Thirty minutes later, she heard a honk outside of her window. She grabbed her jacket and headed out the door, yelling to her parents that she was hanging out with Luke. When she got in his car, she made a show of giving him a dirty look, to which he simply gave her a smile in return, and pulled out of her driveway. She cranked down her window, having to use both hands due to its reluctance to go down. She huffed when it only went half way.

"You need a new car," she griped.

"You say that every day," he rolled his eyes at her, "And I wouldn't complain if I were you. It gets you to school every day."

"Unfortunately," she grumbled.

"Hey," he said, "At least I have a car and my license for that matter."

"That testing-instructor guy only failed me because I called him out on checking out my boobs," she protested remembering the creepy guy that had tested her. Granted he had a lazy eye, she could still see him totally focused on her chest the entire time she was driving.

"Haley, you hit the parallel parking barricade and broke off your side mirror," he laughed before scrunching up his face in disgust, "And do not talk about your boobs around me. As far as I'm concerned, you don't have any."

"I do too!" she argued, "I happen to be a 38 B thank you very much!"

"Ungh!" he yelled, "What did I just say!"

She laughed at her best friend before they both fell into companionable silence. It wasn't long before they pulled up in front of what could only be described as a mansion.

"Wow," she said aloud as they both gaped at the beach house.

"Yeah, wow," he grumbled before getting out of the car.

As they made their way up the walk, she could see that many people were already a little tipsy. _This is going to be fun, _she thought to herself. They had just made their way up onto the deck when they were stopped by someone.

"Who invited you, Pucas?" Tim Smith said looking him up and down before shifting his eyes to Haley.

"I did," A voice came from behind them. Nathan went to stand by Tim, and he locked eyes with Lucas, "Go on in, man."

Tim looked between the two brothers, confused as to why one was here and why the other one was being, dare he say it, nice.

Lucas began to walk around Tim, with Haley close behind him when Nathan intercepted her.

"Hi, I'm Nathan," he grinned at her before winking and holding his hand out.

"Yeah, I know. I'm Haley," she glared at him as she shook his hand. She brushed past him and made her way over to Lucas who just looked at Nathan hesitantly before continuing into the house.

Once inside, Haley instantly regretted agreeing to come. This was not her scene and she had no idea how she was going to blend in.

"You alright, Hales?" Lucas asked once they reached the kitchen. They both looked around awkwardly, trying to find someone they knew.

"Why did I let you talk me into this again?"

"Because you love me?"

"I'm starting to doubt that," she smiled.

He ruffled her hair as someone came up to them.

"Broody and Tutor Girl, this is a pleasant surprise," Brooke Davis smiled at them, clearly already buzzed.

"Broody?" Haley raised her eyebrow. Lucas just shrugged.

"You have to come dance with me," she smiled grabbing Lucas' arm. Before he could reply, he'd already been whisked away to the dance floor. _Oh, he is so dead._

"Haley?" someone said from behind. She turned around and smiled when she saw a familiar face.

"Skillz," she said before hugging him, "I didn't know you came to these things."

"Shorty, you know I'm the man. Everyone loves Skillz," he explained to her.

"I can't deny that," she laughed. Skillz was an old friend of hers. They had drifted apart in high school, but still remained friends. He was her first kiss, weirdly enough; at the only other party she had ever been too.

"You know I love you H. James," he said, "But you'll be getting none of the Skillz this party."

She playfully pushed his shoulder, "I would never deprive the other woman here of 'the Skillz'."

The two friends continued their banter while Lucas was nowhere to be found.

"I'm glad you could come," Brooke told him as they sat down on the porch swing outside.

"Yeah," he smiled at her, "Me too."

"So Broody," she said, "What's the deal with you and Tutor Girl."

"Haley," he emphasized her name, "Is my best friend."

"Please," she scoffed, "A guy and a girl can't be just friends. You all are probably benefitting right?"

"Ew," he inwardly cringed, "That's like my sister."

"You two are really just friends?" she asked incredulously.

"Yep," he confirmed, "Since we were eight."

"Huh," she said. _Well this night is going to be interesting._

Haley roamed around the party, desperately trying to find Lucas to leave. She was seriously irritated. She and Skillz had talked for a while but he decided he needed to go 'find some honey to hook up with' and left her. Soon after, some idiot had spilled his beer on her, so now she had a huge wet spot on her shirt. On top of that, she had a raging headache and just wanted to go home and slide under the covers.

Giving up, she walked outside, and onto the pier. She took out her cell phone to call a cab but saw that she had no service. _Of course. Lucas you are so dead!_

"Not having fun?" A deep voice startled her. She hated that she recognized the voice instantly, but suppressed that thought.

"What can I say," she said, "I'm just not the party girl."

"So I can see," he told her leaning on the opposite rail from her. They both looked out to the ocean quietly.

"Must be nice," she said breaking the silence, "I mean, having a place like this and being popular enough to fill it up."

"I guess," he shrugged, "I like it better when it's empty though."

She looked at him surprised.

"It's kind of nice to have place like this to be alone with your thoughts," he told her. He wasn't at all sure why he was telling her this, but it felt natural. It felt nice.

"I never pictured you as a guy that like to be alone," she told him, "I thought you needed someone there to feed into your ego twenty-four-seven."

"Ouch, James," he feigned hurt, "That was harsh."

"I call 'em like I see 'em," she smiled at him. It was weird how natural their banter came off. Normally it was just him annoying the crap out of her during tutoring, but talking to him now it was almost as if they were friends. Almost.

"Uh huh," he replied. They stood there in silence again, both lost in their own thoughts.

"Shouldn't you be inside, you know, entertaining your guests?"

"You're a guest, so I guess I'm doing my job," he said.

"I guess," she murmured. She looked at her watch and groaned when she saw the time.

"You haven't seen Luke, have you?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, we just had a nice friendly chat a few minutes ago," he said sarcastically.

"Smart ass," she shook her head at him before turning to walk back up the dock.

"Where are you going?" he asked, confused as to why she was walking away. He had a small twinge in his stomach when she turned to walk away from him. He chalked it up to hunger.

"I need to get home and Luke is my ride," she explained.

"I can take you home," he said without thinking. _What the hell? _

"Oh, uh," she hesitated. _Lucas would kill you,_ a voice said. _Not if you kill him first, _another one argued.

"It's no big deal," he shrugged, "Besides, if Brooke got ahold of him, you probably won't see him for the rest of the night."

"Oh," she shuddered, "Ew!"

"C'mon," he said walking past her. He could hear her footsteps behind him and he led her to his car.

"Wait right here while I go get my keys," he said before jogging up the stairs to the party. She fiddled with her hands as she waited for him to return. Was she really accepting a ride from who he thought was the assiest ass on the planet?

"Hey, Dim!" Nathan yelled over to his friend who was currently mixing a drink in the kitchen.

"Whuddup playa!" he yelled.

He shook his head, "You're white, Tim. Anyways, I gotta run somewhere real quick, so you're in charge."

"Aye aye, captain," he saluted.

"Do me a favor," he said pulling a tape from his jacket, "Put this in the VCR. Don't ask, just do."

Tim nodded his head as he grabbed the tape.

"Oh, and you just stumbled upon it if anyone asks," he told him.

"Got it."

With that, he made his way back out to his car.

"Sorry, I couldn't find my keys," he said unlocking the doors.

"It's okay," Haley said clicking her seatbelt in the passengers seat.

He pulled out of his driveway, and Haley directed him toward her house. They talked about tutoring along the way, but that conversation soon ended and the air was filled with an awkward silence. She grew hot and discarded her jacket onto the floor. She looked out the window, trying to find the scenery interesting but all she could think of is what Lucas would say if he knew what she was doing right now. Before long they had pulled up to the front of her house.

"Uh, yeah I'm just staying here while we renovate the mansion," she joked.

He laughed, "I like it. Having a big house isn't all it's made out to be."

She looked at him and saw something in his eyes. She wasn't sure what it was. It looked like sadness and maybe regret? She could see that there was a lot more to Nathan Scott than meets the eye.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"No problem," he said, "It's just a ride."

"Not just for that, but for laying off of Lucas," she explained, "I don't expect you all to become all brotherly or anything but he really is great guy when you get to know him. He's the most loyal friend anyone could ask for."

He couldn't read her face, but he could tell there was more to Haley James then meets the eye. Something that he couldn't put his finger on, but was slowly starting to want to get to know what it was.

"Just think about giving him a chance," she said and with that she got out of the car and waved to him before making her way to her door. Watching her go, he couldn't help but feel guilty about what he left behind at the party.

**OTH**

"Brooke, what time is it?" Lucas asked as they returned inside. He wasn't sure how long they had sat outside and talked, but he had gotten to know a real person that was behind the exterior of Brooke Davis. And he actually liked that person.

"Uh, twelve-thirty," she said checking her phone.

"Shit," he yelled, "I have to find Haley."

"I'll help you look for her," she said taking his hand. She had initially talked to Lucas to figure out the easiest way to get him into bed, but after talking to him, really talking to him, she realized he may be worth more than just a notch on her bedpost. He wasn't like most guys.

The duo searched the kitchen, the back porch, and the bathrooms. Haley was nowhere to be seen.

"Shit," Lucas grumbled. He couldn't believe he'd begged her to come to this party and then ditched her. He had some major groveling to do.

As he came upon the living room, he saw people huddled around the T.V, watching what looked to be a video. As he got closer, he heard the sounds coming from it.

"Come visit us in ten years and we'll probably have a big house with the rooms full of kids…" a younger Karen Roe was hanging onto a younger Dan Scott, making speech after the two had just won prom king and queen. He saw Tim laughing by the T.V and took a deep breath trying to contain the anger that was starting creep up on him.

"Look at that hair," Brooke commented next to him. He whipped around.

"That's my mom," he said through his teeth.

Her smile vanished as she looked between him and the T.V realizing that it was not only his mom but also the bastard known as Dan Scott.

"Lucas…" she started, but what cut off when his phone beeped.

He took it out of his pocket and flipped it open:

_I'm home. Hope you're having fun. –H_

He immediately felt bad and pulled his keys out of his pocket, "I have to go."

"Lucas!" Brooke called after him but he kept walking. He made it down the stairs and almost to his car when he saw Nathan step out of his car.

"You really are an ass," he yelled toward him. Nathan looked up, surprised to see him there.

"What?"

"You heard me," he said walking toward Nathan's car.

"Someone piss in your beer, Pucas?" Nathan said irritated.

"That tape was a low blow, man. Even for you," he gritted his fists by his side.

"How much did you have to drink?" Nathan feigned innocence, "As you can see, I'm just getting back so I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The hell you do," Lucas yelled.

Nathan just shook his head before reaching back down into his car, and to the passenger's seat, to get the case of beer he'd purchased on his way back.

Lucas watched as he did this, noticing a very familiar looking jacket lying in the seat. He felt his face get even hotter with rage, however spoke in the calmest voice he could muster.

"Hand me that jacket," he said.

Nathan looked at the jacket and then at Lucas. _Shit!_

"What are you…" he tried to play it off but Lucas glared at him.

"Haley's jacket," he said, "Now."

Instead of arguing, he handed the jacket over. _This isn't good._

"You stay the hell away from her," he said angrily before turning around and making his way to his car. He and Haley were going to have a long talk.

**Another update, yay! I just want to say thanks to my readers and reviewers, you all are AWESOME! I haven't gotten the response I wanted, but I'm only in the beginning of the story so I understand. Were finally about to get into the real drama so stay tuned. READ AND REVIEW**

**:)**

**p.s Is anyone else already liking this new season? Naley are as adorbs as ever! **


	4. You Get What You Give

**A/N Regarding OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY: Okay, so I could pretty much cry right now. For those of you who were reading Over the Hills and Far Away, I'm so sorry! I got on to update it and low and behold it was GONE. I looked for it everywhere, and poof, no more story. I'm so upset, because although it wasn't the most popular one, it was my first story and I was proud of it. I would re-post it but I only have the last two chapters saved on my computer, so… I'll tell you what I might do. After this story is done, I may make some rewrites to it and post a new version. I am truly sorry for you readers who stuck with it though. THANK YOU! **

"So I take it you and Lucas still aren't talking?" Nathan asked as he and Haley sat in his kitchen working on homework. Although Lucas now knew about their little arrangement, she still insisted they not work in the tutor center. As she so put it, "Seeing us would only make it want to bash that big head of yours into a table." Like he could ever touch him. He could beat that punk into a pulp.

"Why do you care?" She said not looking up from the worksheet of his she was grading.

"Oh, I don't. I think you're better off without that loser, but you've been totally spaced for the last week and I kind of need you to pay attention to what I'm doing and help me. It is your job."

Haley sighed as she thought about the last conversation she had with her best friend. She had never seen someone go from so guilty, to upset, and mad in a matter of minutes, and that was just her. She understood that he was upset with her about the party, but he was the one who left her all by herself. Plus, it was no need to accuse of her of basically sleeping with the enemy. _Jerk, _she thought as she aggressively swiped her red pen over Nathan's paper.

_Haley turned the page of the most recent book that Lucas had let her borrow. Normally, Karen would let her off early if the café was slow, but Keith had surprised her with tickets to see a show down at the center and Haley had offered to stay in order to keep the café open. It was usually easy for her to get completely immersed into a book, but today was different. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Nathan and his party last night. Although they hadn't talked much, she could tell there was a lot about Nathan Scott that she didn't know. The way his eyes flashed with some hidden emotion when he told her it was nice to be alone sometimes made her think that all the bluster he gave everyone else was just a façade. Maybe he wasn't who she, Lucas, or anyone else thought him to be. As she continued to mull things over, the café's bell rang and she looked up to see her best friend stepping through the door._

"_Hey loser," she smiled, "I'm finally reading this book you have been going on about, so you should be happy."_

_Her smiled faded as he got closer. He was pissed, she could see that much. About what, though? He stopped in front of the counter and just stared at her for a moment._

"_Luke, what's..." she didn't get to finish though as he placed an object on the counter in front of her. Seeing her jacket, her mouth shut with an audible snap as she tried to figure out something to tell him. It wasn't necessary, however, as he spoke first._

"_You left this in Nathan's car," he said as calmly as possible before turning and heading toward the door._

"_Luke, wait!" she called for him. He hesitated for a moment before turning back to face her, jaw clenched._

"_Let me explain," she said softy. Just tell him the truth, she told herself, just tell him._

"_Explain what?" he said angrily, "Explain that fact that you were with my ass of a brother doing God knows what?"_

"_What do you mean 'God knows what?'" she asked taken aback by his insinuation. What the fuck does he think I was doing?_

"_From what I hear he can be very persuasive," he told her._

"_Wait, please tell me you aren't saying what I think you're saying?" She said, her temper beginning to rise._

_He simply shrugged back. He knew that Haley would never go that far, and he felt guilty for saying these things to her but he was mad. No, he was furious. When he had seen the jacket in Nathans car, it didn't really hit him until he got home. His best friend had been off with his mortal enemy. He knew he shouldn't be mad at her, but more so at Nathan. Haley would never intentionally hurt him. She was just so innocent, and Nathan had probably tried his best to convince her she was friends with the wrong brother. His best friend; his Haley._

_She gritted her teeth as she let what he was saying sink in, and then she let her anger out, "He offered me a ride home because YOU just went missing and left me all alone at a party I didn't want to be at in the first place!"_

"_I didn't go missing; I was there the whole time!"_

"_No, you were with Brooke Davis the whole time! Don't even lie to me." _

"_Brooke Davis isn't your ass of a relative who can barely see straight because she's so far up her dad's ass!"_

"_I cannot believe you think I would every let Nathan, 'persuade me'" she said using finger quotes, "And maybe if you all ever tried to get to know each other you would get along! He isn't that bad,"_

"_How would you know?" he asked raising his eyebrows. They couldn't have gotten to know each other that well on a ten minute ride, right?_

_.. _

"_Hales?" he prompted. She could hear the curiosity mixed with rising anger again._

"_Well, I mean, no, I-"_

"_What aren't you telling me?" he asked, afraid of the answer._

_She sighed, knowing it was time to tell the truth, "He…we…I. He's the person I've been tutoring."_

"_Are you kidding me?" he snapped, "I asked you a million times if I knew who it was and you were lying to me? That's just great Haley."_

"_Will you shut up so I can explain," she said desperately. This conversation had not gone the way she thought it would. _

"_Save it," he said bitterly heading for the door again, "You can go talk about it with your new boyfriend."_

"_Damn it, Luke, stop being such an asshole!" _

"_Why? Apparently you like assholes," he said sarcastically before walking out leaving her alone in the café once more. _

"There you go again," Nathan said as she snapped back to the present.

"Sorry," she sighed, "I just hate when he's mad at me. He didn't even give me a chance to explain."

"Explain what?"

"Explain that I was tutoring you with conditions to leave him alone," she told him. _Why are you talking to him. He's enemy number one! Stop it!_

"I'm sure you'll work it out," he said genuinely. As much as he didn't like Lucas, Haley was starting to grow on him. She didn't treat him like another dumb jock like most of his teachers did, and she always explained things clearly. He also found her easy to talk to. Conversation just seemed to flow between them as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Maybe in another world, they could have been friends. Maybe.

Haley circled the grade on his paper and popped the cap back on her pen. She was a little weirded out by how nice Nathan had been lately. They had actually begun to talk casually during their sessions about something other than the work they were doing. He continuously tried to explain basketball and she would sometime tell him stories about her family. It almost felt like they were friends. Almost.

Nathan took his paper from her and cursed when he saw the circled grade, "Damn it!"

"I know it doesn't seem like it, but you are getting better. Your averages have already gone up an entire letter grade."

"A seventy one doesn't seem to be improving. I'm never going to get this," he said angrily. He would try so hard sometimes, his brain would actually hurt, yet he still got D's. It was official, Nathan Scott is an idiot.

"You aren't stupid, Nathan," she said as though she could read his mind, "You just have to keep working at it and it will get easier. I promise."

She sent him a smile of reassurance, which he returned. It immediately disappeared when he heard the front door close.

"So, do you want to start on history or…" Haley started sorting through the books on the counter.

"Nathan!" A voice boomed from the other room. Haley's head snapped up, and then looked over to Nathan. His posture had immediately stiffened and she could see he was clenching his jaw.

"Nathan," the voice said again, coming into the kitchen. Dan Scott was an intimidating man. Not only was he tall and very well built, but he had a look on his face that could make anyone flinch. Haley could see the resemblance between father and son, though. Dan's blue eyes and raven hair were the most obvious traits inherited from his father. She also knew his basketball skills were also something he had gotten from him. She may not know a lot about the sport, but Dan Scott was a supposed god back in his day.

"Well, well," Dan said looking between Nathan and Haley, "What do we have here?"

"Dad, this is Haley, my tutor," Nathan gritted out between his teeth. He could see his dad sizing her up, like he did with everyone.

"Have we met before?" Dan asked looking intently at the petite girl perched next to his son. She looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"I don't think so, Mr. Scott," she said quietly. She felt herself shrink into her seat as he looked her up and down again. She prayed to God that she was imagining that he was checking her out.

"Shouldn't you be at the gym? You were looking kind of weak at practice the other day," Dan said switching over to Nathan, "Don't want that punk to take your spot, now do you?"

"His name is Lucas," Haley muttered. She didn't take kindly to her best friend being called 'that punk', especially by his ass of a father. He was intimidating, but she wasn't afraid of him.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Dan looked back over at her. Nathan turned his head to look at her as well.

"I said his name is Lucas, not 'that punk'," she said clearly, "You should know that, seeing as he's your son."

Nathan's eyes widened as he listened to Haley talk back to his dad. No one ever talked back to Dan Scott nor insulted him, and talking about Lucas being his son, that was an insult.

"Nathan, I think it's time you found a new flavor of the week," he spit at her, "Meet me outside in ten minutes. We're going for a run."

With that he exited and left the two teens in silence. Haley was fuming. Lucas had definitely not done the man justice when he spoke of him. He was ten times worse. _Poor Nathan, _she thought, _he has to live with the guy. _Glancing over at him, she saw that he was again clenching his jaw.

"You okay?" she said lightly placing her hand on his arm. Both were shocked at the electricity that ran through their bodies from the simple touch. He looked at her, his eyes meeting hers. Something about looking into the innocent, genuine chocolate eyes made his muscles relax. Normally, he would have played it off, acted like he didn't care but something about the way she was looking at him made him feel like she wouldn't believe him. _What the hell was this girl doing to him?_

"Would you be okay if you had to live with that?" he laughed sarcastically.

"Nathan," she said softly, but he cut her off by standing up.

"You should probably go," he said, "I'll meet you at the docks Monday morning."

"Yeah, okay," she said before gathering her things and heading for the door. He opened it up, allowing her to walk through. She turned before he closed it and said, "You and Lucas have more in common than you think."

And with that, she was gone.

**OTH**

Lucas tapped his foot impatiently on the Haley's porch as he waited for her to get home. Normally, he would go in and hang with her parent's but they were out saving the world or something this weekend. He needed to talk to her. He wasn't exactly proud of the way he treated her and he needed answers. He didn't understand what could possibly cause her to tutor Nathan of all people. He heard the squeak of her front gate, and stood up as she approached.

"I'm an idiot," he spoke immediately.

"I know," she replied coming onto the porch. Although she didn't show it, she was shocked to see him here. She had actually started formulating a plan to talk to him on her walk home.

"I'm sorry about the other day," he sighed, "I shouldn't have said those things to you. I know you would never let Nathan…well…you know."

"I'm not stupid, Luke, I know you don't honestly think that," she said, "But it kind of hurts that you don't trust me."

"It's not you I don't trust, Hales. It's him."

"You know, I told him the only way I would help him is if he left you alone," she confessed while she could. She didn't want him to leave again without her getting a chance to explain.

"What?"

"I originally told him no way in hell would I tutor him," she explained, "But then you came in from yet another day of hazing and I just... I had to do something. You've done so much for me, Luke. With everything that's happened in the past year, I owe you. I told him the only way I would tutor him is if he stopped messing with you."

"Hales," he said pulling her into a hug, "You're a martyr, you know that?"

"I hated that you couldn't find your place on that damn team," she told him as she hugged him back.

"I love you for doing that, I do, but I can handle things myself," he smiled at her, "You don't have to tutor him anymore."

"Yeah, Luke, I do."

"Haley, I'll be fine…"

"I know, but I can't just stop tutoring him," she told him, hoping he would understand.

"Why not?"

"Because, I promised I would help him. I can't just break that promise."

"But Haley…" he started, but she cut him off.

"Lucas, I know you don't trust him but he's not a bad guy. If you guys would stop being so stubborn, you would probably get along. Instead of getting to know one another, you all are letting Dan control your thoughts."

"Yeah, I'm sure Dan put him up to hazing me and being a complete tool," he said bitterly.

"You of all people know how manipulative Dan can be," she said, "Do you remember how he tried to manipulate you to not join the team? Try dealing with that every day."

"Whose side are you one? I thought I was your best friend," Lucas said standing up, not believing what his best friend was saying. She had always been the first to criticize Nathan with him, but now she was defending him?

"You are!" she immediately said, "I just want you to understand that Nathan isn't who we thought."

"How would you know?"

"I've only seen Dan and Nathan interact once, but I could tell that Dan is pretty hard on him," she explained.

"I think your medication has gone to your head," he laughed, "That son of a bitch abandoned me. But daddy is so hard on poor Nathan and that gives him an excuse to act like he does?"

Haley sighed as she realized there was no getting through to him, "No it doesn't."

"What do you want from me, Hales?" he said exasperated, "We aren't going to sit around a fire singing kumbaya anytime soon."

"I just want you to support me. When I'm tutoring someone, and they get it, and that light goes on, I feel good! I feel worthy. The same way that you feel when you play basketball. Besides, haven't things gotten better for you? The team's left you alone, the hazing's stopped? "

"Yeah but…"

"Please Luke," she begged.

He sighed, knowing that he was fighting a losing battle, "Just be careful, please?"

"I don't break that easily," she smiled.

"I know, you're tough," he laughed squeezing her hand.

"So, we're okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied pulling her into a hug, "We're okay."

**A/N 2: Hmmm…what could Lucas possibly talking about? Medication? And he was there for her during a tough time, eh? I know I'm a freak, but here's another update. Hopefully it makes up for the large update gap. School's been pretty crazy. Sorry if grammar is a little shaky, I only read over once. Read and Review! **

**P.S Thanks to everyone who had reviewed. They make my day (:**


	5. If It Kills Me

**Disclaimer: Don't own One Tree Hill. Boo.**

"You really didn't have to come," Haley said as she and Lucas sat in the waiting room of Tree Hill Memorial Hospital, "You're going to miss practice. Whitey's going to fry your ass."

"Come on, Hales, I always come to these with you," he smiled squeezing her knee, "You forget that I know how much you hate these things. You may tell your parents you're fine without them coming, but I know better. Besides, I'm only going to miss a little bit of practice."

"Have I told you how much I love you lately?" she said smiling at her best friend. It was true; she hated her monthly checkups and she hated the hospital. It had become such an unwanted constant in her life, and she would be perfectly happy to never see one ever again. Her parents were out of town visiting her sister, Vivian, so they couldn't come to this one...or the last one, or the one before that. She wasn't stupid, she knew her parents cared; they would be there for her in a heartbeat if there was bad news, but she was healthy now, and they weren't meant to stay cooped up in one place. This was why she was so grateful for Lucas. No matter if they fight, if it's nothing but a simple doctor's appointment, they're there for each other. He had been her rock for the last year, and she's pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to make it if it weren't for him. People always swore they were a couple every time he came to the hospital with her. They would simply laugh and say how gross that is. A guy and a girl can be just friends.

"Enough to stop tutoring Nathan?" he asked hopefully.

She rolled her eyes and didn't grace him with a response. After they made up last week, Lucas had reluctantly agreed to stop hassling her about Nathan. She knew he didn't understand why she didn't just quit tutoring him, and he was happy to voice his thought about how he was using her to get to him. She had quickly dismissed it, telling him that Nathan's report card didn't lie; the guy seriously needed help with his grades. However, if Lucas' plan was to plant the seed of doubt into her mind, he had definitely succeeded. She hated that the doubt was in her mind because she and Nathan had been getting along really well, especially since the encounter with his dad. He seemed a lot more open with her. Their conversations at first were strictly about tutoring, then they began asking about one another's days and she would ask him about basketball, but lately they had begun to talk, really talk. This past week he had explained how hard his dad has been pushing him just so he can do well in the game on Friday. Although he didn't say it, she knew exactly why Dan Scott was being extra hard on his son for this particular game.

"So, are you nervous about Friday?" she asked Lucas as he flipped through a magazine that he must have picked up while she drifted into her thoughts.

He looked up and shrugged, "Not yet. I'm sure it will hit me in the next few days though."

"Your first official game as a Raven," she smiled, "Did you ever imagine you would end up there?"

He laughed, "Not at all."

"I'm sure you'll do great," she encouraged him. She'd watched him play on the Rivercourt to many times to count. He was a great player, she knew that and soon Tree Hill would too.

"Thanks. I can't mess up their undefeated season," he said jokingly. In reality, it was his biggest fear. Although they had only played one game, he knew this was supposed to be the season the Ravens took it all. It was crucial for them to win this one with him on their team. He needed to prove to Nathan, Whitey, and everyone else that he wasn't just Dan Scott's abandoned son. He had talent.

"I'm pretty sure they messed it up when they stole the school bus," she scoffed, "But you'll be great, I know it."

"Haley James?" The doctor called out.

"Hey, Dr. Crask," Haley smiled as she and Lucas reached the elder man.

"Haley," he greeted her with a smile, "How are you feeling today?"

"Good," she said as they followed the Doctor back in to the hallway and into a room. She sat on the examination table, while Lucas pulled up a seat next to her, taking her hand in his giving it a reassuring squeeze as the examination began.

**OTH**

"Touch the line, Jagielski!" Whitey yelled as the team did their wind sprints. He glanced at his watch and then back at his player. The blonde Scott was nowhere to be found, and practice had begun thirty minutes ago. _I wonder how many suicides that boy can run with my foot up his ass, _the old man wondered. Just as he thought that, he heard the gym door fly open and the squeak of sneakers running up behind him.

"Sorry I'm late, Coach…" he huffed. He had sprinted all the way from his car to the locker room where he got dressed at warp speed. He then sprinted into the gym. He's also pretty sure he broke about a dozen traffic laws on his way from the hospital, to dropping Haley off at home, to here.

"That's great, you're sorry," Whitey said sarcastically before turning toward his players and blowing his whistle, "Sixteen-sixties."

All the guys groaned as they dragged themselves to the line and spread out.

"Don't thank me," the old man smiled, "Thank your teammate here."

Lucas ducked his head guiltily before making his way over to the line, next to Tim Smith.

"Way to go, Pucas," Tim growled at him.

"Shut up, Dim," he returned. Whitey blew his whistle and all 15 guys took off. Two sixteen-sixties, and a full court scrimmage later, they made their way into the locker room all dead on their feet. Lucas opened his locker and pulled out his clothes. He plopped down on the bench behind him, knowing that his legs would probably give out at any second. He had just pulled his t-shirt over his head when he heard Nathan behind him.

"So, why were you late?" he said, "The teams really curious to know this important reason you had for causing us to commit suicide out there."

Lucas turned around on the bench to face Nathan and the few teammates that were still left, "I had something important to take care of."

"Yet another one of your mistakes," Nathan said, "Nothing is more important than the team. We put everything else behind it because we need to work our asses off in order to win that championship for Whitey. We need to prove we're the best."

Lucas felt his blood begin to boil at Nathan's words, "Believe me when I say, this is more important than basketball. And prove you're the best to who? Dan?"

He could see Nathan's eyes flash with some hidden emotion when he said this, but he immediately recovered, "Unlike you I don't have to prove anything, I'm not the bastard, remember?"

Lucas stood up from the bench and he and Nathan were chest to chest, both had fire in their eyes. The team looked on, unsure of what to do. They didn't have a chance to act, however, because Whitey's voice boomed in the locker room.

"Scott!" he yelled.

The two brothers looked at him before he pointed to the blonde one and indicated that he needed to follow him. With one more look at Nathan, Lucas followed Whitey into his office.

"You want to tell me why you were late?" Whitey's voice faded as he shut the door so the team couldn't eavesdrop.

Nathan rolled his eyes, and grabbed his bag before heading to his car. Throwing his bag in the back, he hopped into the seat and leaned his head against the window. He sighed at the prospect of returning home. His dad had been a complete nightmare this past week, no doubt because Lucas's first game was Friday and he didn't want his bastard child to show up his claimed one. This week had already kicked his ass and it was only Wednesday. His dad's five mile runs at the crack of dawn, his extra work outs, practice, and school had sucked him dry of any energy. Luckily, Haley had decided to go easy on him during tutoring when he explained everything his dad was doing him. It still surprised him that he had just come out and told her that. Their conversations had become more personal, but he had just come right out and told her how his dad was making him crazy. No beating around the bush or anything. He sighed. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. A month ago, he had it planned out perfectly; go after Haley, get to Lucas, and screw with his head. The perfect plan. That plan was now in shambles. He realized after he told Haley about his dad that he couldn't do it. He couldn't hurt her. How could he? She was the only person who didn't treat him like he was inferior or stupid. She didn't treat him like a popular jock. She didn't throw herself at him like every other girl. She treated him like he was just another person and he admired that. Life sure did have a way of surprising you.

He arrived home, what felt like too soon. He dragged himself into the house, planning to just shower and go to bed. His homework could wait until tomorrow, he just needed sleep.

"Nathan!" He heard his dads voice call from his study. He paused with one foot on the stairs, debating whether or not to pretend he didn't hear him. He decided it was best to go talk to him after his name was called a little louder.

"Yeah?" He said when he entered the study. Dan Scott was hunched over paper work, with a pen in one hand and a glass of scotch in the other. He looked up at his son.

"You're home early," he said, "You should be at the gym still."

"I went before practice," he lied.

"Well, then go before and after," his dad said as if it was obvious.

"Look, Dad," he groaned rubbing his eyes, "I'm tired and I have homework to do,so…"

"Nathan, I'm only trying to help you," he said getting up from his desk and walking over to him, "The scouts don't care about grades, they care about performance, drive, and discipline."

"It's Bear Creek, Dad, it's not like it's the finals," he told him.

"Play every game like it's the finals," Dan said grabbing his shoulders, "How do you think I still hold the scoring record for points scored against Bear Creek?"

"Yeah, well you won't hold it much longer, because I'm taking it," Nathan smiled at his father. Dan's eyes turned serious before he smirked.

"You won't beat it," Dan said simply, "You aren't as good as me and you never will be."

Nathan stared at his dad before shaking his head and walking away. His dad always had to bring him down. Never a 'good job, son' or an 'I'm proud of you'. Nope, it always had to be a put down, telling him he'll never be good. He was good. He was great, and unlike his father, he would make it. He was going to go on to college, go to the pros, and be someone. He wasn't going to think about what could have been and drown himself in scotch. Nathan Scott was going to make it, no matter what. He'd do whatever it takes.

He picked up his phone and dialed a solution, "Tim, is your brother still dealing?"

**OTH**

Haley peaked over her Literature text book again to look at Nathan. Something was off with him, she knew it. When he came in this morning he seemed distracted, revved up, and very…different. Spending almost every day for the last month with someone, you get to know their body language. Well, maybe it was just her noticing things about him. She wasn't proud of it, and if Lucas knew that she was feeling an attraction toward him, World War III would break out. Today, Nathan wasn't his laid back, cocky, arrogant self. Today, his brow was furrowed as though it was taking all his strength to concentrate, his leg was bouncing up and down, and his hands were shaking.

"Nathan," she finally said, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he answered immediately, not even glancing up at her. She reached her hand out to cover his, which had been tapping a pencil annoyingly against the table.

"I'm serious," she said with concern, "What's up?"

He yanked his hand away, "And I'm serious when I say that I'm fine!"

She leaned back in her chair, taken aback by the outburst. He definitely was not fine.

"You're lying," she said softly.

"Just drop it!" He snapped before closing his book, "I can't do this today."

She watched as he got up from his chair and began to put his things in his bag. _What the hell?_

"Nathan-" she said before she saw something fall out of his bag onto the table in front of her.

Nathan quickly tried to reach for it, but she was faster and snatched them up, getting up from her seat and walking away from him. She examined the small bag of pills, praying they weren't what she thought. She felt him reach around her to grab them but she moved away.

"I need those back, Haley," he said walking toward her.

"What are they?" she questioned sternly.

"Nothing, now give them back," he said once again reaching for them, but she again moved them away.

"Amphetamines, Nathan, really?" she said to him, pity in her voice. Dan Scott had a better hold on him than she thought.

"You don't know what you're talking about," he said angrily backing her up. She held firmly to the small baggy in her and, clutching it behind her back. He backed her up until she felt a wall behind her. She wasn't scared of Nathan Scott. He would never hurt anyone, as much as pretended, he could never really hurt someone. But this Nathan, well she didn't know him. And he scared her.

"You don't need these, Nathan," she told him staring into his angry blue eyes, the blue eyes that she could normally get lost in, "You're better than this. You're better than Dan, and you don't need these to show it."

He had he closed in, both of his arms on either side of her head. She could see him having a battle with himself through his eyes. The Nathan she knew struggling to get passed this enhanced version.

"I have to prove I'm better than him," he whispered.

"This isn't going to help you," she said.

Nathan closed his eyes, before backing away from her. Without a second look, he grabbed his bag off of the table, and made his way out of the room, leaving Haley frozen against the wall with the pills still in her hand.

**Short chapter, I know. I've had writers block though, and plus school has been kicking my ass, seriously. I hope you're still enjoying the story, and as you can see the Naley relationship is beginning to blossom…kind of. I hope you don't mind that I changed the Nathan/Drugs thing from season 1. I want to keep it as loyal to the show as possible, but it wouldn't be original if I didn't tweak it haha. Sorry for any grammer errors, I only proofread once so, don't judge me. Enjoy and Read and Review. And to my reviewers have asked: I didn't intend for it to be like A Walk To Remember, but I see the similarities. You'll find out what's going on with Haley in due time, don't worry (:**


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